Hey everybody,

This is Doug. If you don't know me, I'm one of the skinny IT guys, not the one with the beard. My goal is probably different than most people in that I am trying to gain weight. Hopefully the majority of that is muscle but if there is some fat in there it isn't a big deal. It is supposedly easier to just gain weight without worrying about exact composition and then reduce body fat afterwards. Right now I weigh around 172 lbs. When I started taking this seriously at the start of February, I was at 170, so there has been some progress so far. Of course my weigh-ins can vary by plus or minus half a pound depending on factors like when I last ate so I try not to hit the scales that often. My end goal is to be around 200 lbs but for now the short term is to hit 175 by March 20th.

The plan to reach my goal can be summarized pretty easily as "lift and eat everything in sight". I've started a structured weight lifting program that I might expand upon in a future post. And the diet is harder than one might think. It's a challenge to get yourself to eat 2700-3000 calories a day especially if you are getting them from healthy sources and not junk food. I'm also doing some cardio to get my cardiovascular fitness up but that is sort of secondary to my main goals.

Thanks for letting me share guys. I'll try to keep you all updated on my progress. If anyone wants some help with weight lifting or nutrition advice, I can share what little knowledge I have.

Doug